Hoiise



UNITED STATES PATENT F F ICEO BOTTLE-STOP'PER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,958, dated August 30, 1887.

' V Application filed December 16,1886. Serial No. 221,742. (No model.)

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. MORE- HOUSE, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bottle-Stoppers, of which the following is aspecification. This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in bottle stoppers, in which the stopper is contained within the bottle and adapted to float on the liquid.

The object of my invention is to provide a. new and improved stopper of this class,which can float on the liquid and be pressed against the stopper-seating in the head of the bottle by the pressure of the gases in the bottle, thereby closing the bottle effectually, and which stopper can be removed very easily by pressing it down.

The invention consistsin a cork stopper provided on its top with a hard-rubber cap, the lower end of which stopper is weighted.

The invention also consists in parts of construction and combinations of the same, as will be fully set forth hereinafter.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l-is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the upper part of a bottle with my improved stopper in the same. Fig. 2 is a side view of the weight ing-plug for the lower end of the stopper, parts being broken out and others being in section. Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the same, and Figs. 4 and 5- are cross-sectional views of modifications of my improved stopper.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

The stopper Ais made of cork of such diameter as to fit snugly in the neck B of the bottle 0 and form a tightjoint. On the top of the'cork stopper A, I place a cap,D,- made of hard rubber, tapered at its upper end,so as to fit against the inner bottom bevel ofv a rubber packing-ring, E, held in a groove in the inside of the head of the bottle. The cap D is provided with an interior annular offset, shoulder, or ridge, F, against which the top of the cork stopper rests. Below the said offset the exterior cap, D, is vmade cylindrical and in line with the outside of the cork stopper. Above part of the cap that is above said exterior offset or shoulder, F, an air-chamber, G, is thus formed between the top of the stopper and the top of the cap, whereby the buoyancy of the stopper is increased. A plug, H, of metal, is screwed into an aperture in the bottom of the cork stopper, and a rod, J, is passed through 5 an aperture in the top of the cap, through an aperture in the stopper, and through an aperture in the plug H, the lower end of said rod being flush with the bottom of the plug,which has a recess, into which a quantity of solder, K, is dropped, for the purpose of forming a head on the lower end of the rod J, and thus holding said rod J snugly in place. The plug H is provided on its rim with a downwardlyprojecting thin flange, L,whicl1 projects about one thirty-second to one sixty-fourth of an inch below the bottom of the cork stopper. A flllingpiece, M, of cork, is placed in the cavity formed below the plug H and the under side of the flange which fits over the fillingpiece, for the purpose of holding the filling-piece, the bottom of the filling-piece and the cork stopper being practically flush.

The plug H is preferably made of pure blocktin, as that is not injurious to health, and is not affected by the liquids or gases.

The rod J is provided at its upper end with a ring, N, to permit of inserting a hook to draw the stopper up against its seating, for the purpose of preventing dirt from accumulating on the upper side of the stopper. Iplacea cap, 0, made of very thin sheet metal, in the top of the bottle'head and above the capof the stopper, said protecting-cap 0 being fastened to a cord or wire, 0, secured around the neck of the bottle. 7

As shown in Fig. 4, the stopper is made entirely of cork, and a piece of block-tin, Q, is fastened to the lower end for the purpose of Weighting the cork, and, as shown in Fig. 5, the weight B may be of block-tin, and is suspended from the end of a wire, R, fastened in the lower end of the cork stopper. The plug H (shown in Figs. 2 and 3,) has a transverse groove, L, in its lower end. to facilitate screwing it into the stopper.

The operation is as follows: If the. bottle is filled with liquid, the stopper floats on the surface of the liquid and always stands vertically, as its lower end is weighted, and the upper end is made very buoyant by the air-chamber formed between the tapered stopper and the top of the cap. The pressure of the gas contained in the liquid forces the stopper upward and presses the beveled part of the hardrubber cap D against the bevel of the packing-ring E, thereby forming an absolutely airtightjoint. The stopper and the cylindrical part of the rubber cap fit snugly in the head of the bottle, and also form atight joint. The liquid in the bottle does not come in contact with the rubber when the bottle is closed, but only with the cork, which cork is impregnated with paraifine, beeswax, or similar water-1e polling material to prevent it from absorbing liquid. To open the bottle, it is only necessary to press the cork of the stopper inward with sufficient force to overcome the pressure of the liquid. As soon as the bottle is reversed, the cork will float on the surface of the liquid, which is now at the closed end of the bottle.

The advantage of the hard-rubber cap I) is that when the pressure of the gas is very great the edge of the rubber packing-ring cannot be forced into the stopper, which can happen in case the stopper is made entirely of cork or wood, as shown in Fig. 5. In case the pressure of the gas is not too great, an entire cork stopper (shown in Fig. 4,) may be used successfully. In case the liquid in the bottle contains no gases that exert any great pressure, the top partof the stopper would not be pressed against the packing-ring. In such cases the hook is inserted into the ring M on the upper end of the rod J, and by means of the hook the stopper drawn upward firmly against its seat. As the stoppers all float vertically, they are always guided into proper position.

It is evident that in place of hard rubber its equivalent or metal-may be used.

It is evident that the cork may extend up to the under side of the closed end of the rubber cap, which is thus entirely filled and no air-chamberformed, as is shown, for example, in Fig. 5.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desi re to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A bottle-stopper composed of a cork stopper provided with a hard-rubber cap, substantially as shown and described.

2. A bottle -stopper composed of a cork stopper having a hard-rubber cap, the top of the cork stopper being some distance from the closed top end of the cap, substantially as shown and described.

3. The combination, with a cork stopper, of a hard-rubber cap on the same, said hardrubber cap having an internal annular projection against which the rim part of the top of the cork stopper rests, substantially as shown and described.

4. The combination, with a bottle having a rubber ring on the inside of its head, of a cork stopper provided with a rubber cap having its upper end beveled to fit against said ring, substantially as shown and described.

5. The combination, with a cork stopper, of a cap on the same, a weighted plug held in the lower end of the stopper, and a rod passing from the top of the cap to said weighting'plug, substantially as shown and described.

6. The combination, with a cork stopper, of a cap on the same, a weighted plug in the bottom of the cork stopper, a rod extending from the weighting-plug through the top of the cap, and a ring on the upper end of said rod, substantially as shown and described.

7. In a bottle-stopper, the combination, with a cork stopper, of a cap on the same, a weighting-piece fastened in the lower end of the cork, which weighting-piece has an annular bottom flange, a rod passed from the weighting-piece up through the cap, and of a fillingpiece of cork in the cavity formed by the flange of the weighting-piece, substantially as shown and described.

8. The combination, with a cork stopper, ot a weightingpiece secured in the lower end of the same, which weighting-piece has a bottom annular flange, and of a filling-piece of cork in the cavity formed by the said bottom flange, substantially as shown and described.

9. In a bottle-stopper, the combination, with the cork stopper, of a weighting-piece in the bottom of the same, which weighting-piece has a bottom annular flange, and a filling-piece of cork in the cavity formed by the flange, the edge of the flange being.turned over the bottom of the filling-piece, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES L. MOREHOUSE.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. RoznLL, OSCAR F. Gunz. 

